Winnipeg Jets 2011-12 Player Leaders and GM Analysis

The new Winnipeg Jets 2.0 would be built on the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team that did not have much to be proud of. True North acquired a team that were just one or two steps above an expansion franchise.

Winnipeg and Manitoba adopted the team enthusiastically despite the team’s past performance. To begin analyzing how GM Kevin Chevaldayoff has attended to the team here is a list of the Winnipeg Jets skaters (ranked by point totals) and goalies (ranked by games played) for the 2011-12 season, their first in Winnipeg.

Each player who played in 2011-12 is identified by how they were acquired by the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets which can be via a Trade deal, a Draft pick, a Free Agent signing, or a Waiver pickup. Below this table I provide a summary of the makeup of the team and also track the team’s continuity to the 2012-13 season.

In reviewing the 2011-12 scoring table, the Jets found some success finding scoring from previous unknown sources with having 10 different players scoring 10+ goals. They also experienced a bit of turnover with their roster due to injuries and other issues. It was not clear who the core of the team was which is not surprising since the team had new coaching.

Below I separate out the Jets Roster by the Player Route taken or the way the player got to be part of the Jets. We find that the Jets are getting most of their performance from Atlanta’s draft picks. The Free Agents contributed less than their team makeup while players acquired by Trade made up some missing points but also had the by far worst plus/minus ratings as a group. Ouch!

Jets Skating Lineup Efficiency

If all 18 skaters played all 82 games there would be a 0.00% substitution rate

The Jets had 35 skaters in its lineup which means a 94.44% substitution rate

Team Composition by Player Route

Games by Scater’s Route

Goals by Scater’s Route

Draft

13

34.21%

Draft

476

32.25%

Draft

94

42.53%

Free Agent

12

31.58%

Free Agent

437

29.61%

Free Agent

53

23.98%

Trade

10

26.32%

Trade

501

33.94%

Trade

69

31.22%

Waivers

3

7.89%

Waivers

62

4.20%

Waivers

5

2.26%

Points by Scater’s Route

+/- by Scater’s Route

Draft

225

37.44%

Draft

9

-24.32%

Free Agent

145

24.13%

Free Agent

0

0.00%

Trade

213

35.44%

Trade

-39

105.41%

Waivers

18

3.00%

Waivers

-7

18.92%

# of players who played for the Winnipeg Jets or St. John IceCaps the Next Season (NS): 26

68.42%

of 38 players compared to 63.16% of 38 players in 2010-11.

# of players who left the Next Season (NS): 12

(6 Free Agents, 5 Trades, 1 Waiver)

31.58%

of 38 players

Now how well did Cheveldayoff do as far as his contributions to the team? Using the numbers above, I separated out those players that he directly had a hand in bringing to the Jets either via Draft, Free Agency, Trade, or Waiver pickup. You can see his 2011-12 transactions here.

Cheveldayoff’s Deals

Team Composition by Player Route

Games by Scater’s Route

Goals by Scater’s Route

Draft

1

2.63%

Draft

7

0.47%

Draft

1

0.45%

Free Agent

7

18.42%

Free Agent

249

16.87%

Free Agent

27

12.22%

Trade

3

7.89%

Trade

53

3.59%

Trade

3

1.36%

Waivers

3

7.89%

Waivers

62

4.20%

Waivers

5

2.26%

Total

14

36.84%

Total

371

25.14%

Total

36

16.29%

Points by Scater’s Route

+/- by Scater’s Route

Draft

1

0.17%

Draft

0

0.00%

Free Agent

73

12.15%

Free Agent

-7

18.92%

Trade

8

1.33%

Trade

-6

16.22%

Waivers

18

3.00%

Waivers

-7

18.92%

Total

100

16.64%

Total

-20

54.05%

# of Cheveldayoff players acquired but did not stay with the team after 2011-12: 7

This is 58.33% of the 12 total players who left. It remains to be seen if this is a trend or is a high number, but it does appear that Cheveldayoff does not keep people around if they do not fit even if he originally chooses them.

So after a full season, we see Cheveldayoff tinkering with the team by introducing some Free Agents, making some Trades, and picking up a few Waivers. Players he directly had a hand in acquiring made up 36.84% of the roster, but they underperformed in all areas. Those players were poor on goals/points and atrocious on the plus/minus. Not a good first year as a GM.

Perhaps this poor performance is a trend that is found across the NHL, but it definitely puts Cheveldayoff’s decisions in a bad light. Still we have to remember that the work of a GM is a long term vision and Cheveldayoff’s impact should be better when his draft picks start to crack the lineup.

Essentially the Winnipeg Jets are just a tad different from the 2010-11 Atlanta Thrashers
with the majority of those players continuing to play for the organization.

The Jets improved their season standing from 34-36-12 to 37-35-10 with essentially the same team.
The slight improvement could be due to the move to Winnipeg which brought a
new management structure and hockey crazy fans with higher expectations.

Chris Billows is a knowledge seeker, a libertarian who believes in social responsibility, a health care bureaucrat, and a business dabbler. The Journals of Doc Surge is his personal blog.
Doc Surge (a cool synonym for Billows) is inspired by Doc Brass from the Planetary Comic series who in turn was inspired by the 1930s pulp hero Doc Savage.